All I hear is a muffled sound, and I count the seconds before I turn back to her.“I asked you a question.”My voice sounds cutting and I despise myself for it.
“I...I don’t know.”
“You did it, so you must know why.”
Her eyes fill with tears again.“I...I wanted...”
“Yeah, what?To split me and Olive up?To make everyone at my school hate me?Congratulations, you nearly succeeded.”
“No, Colin.I didn’t want that.”
“Oh, no?So what did you want then?”
“I wanted to help you,” she blurts out.“You kept saying you wanted to get away from that school and come home.And you promised, Colin!Every time we spoke.But then you said it less and less and...I thought if I didn’t do anything, you might just forget about me.”
I want to keep cool, but I don’t have a chance in hell as the tears stream down Cleo’s cheeks.She buries her face in her hands and sobs her heart out.
My eyes well as I look at her, as I put my arms around her.“How could you think anything as dumb as that?”
Cleo says nothing, but her sobs are answer enough.She digs her fingers into my sweater.I just keep holding her.“You can’t be angry with me.Please, Colin.What I did was wrong.It was really mean.I just thought if Olive knew everything and...”
“Dumped me, I’d come back?”I suggest.
Cleo’s shoulders start to shake again.
“It was a big success, I’ll give you that.Worked so well that everything got out of hand, and I landed in the goddamn hospital.”
Cleo’s head jerks up at that.“That was my fault?”
“Well, mainly mine, to be honest, but after Olive saw the screenshots, I started drinking.”Cleo opens her mouth, but I cut her off.“Now listen here,” I say firmly.“Sending her that stuff was a crappy thing to do, and I’m seriously pissed.Mainly because you can’t seriously think I’d suddenly stop caring about you.That’s not true.You’re my sister.You’re more important to me than anything.Got that?”My voice catches, but only briefly.Then I’ve got it under control again.And I say it: “I’m not coming back.I’m going to stay at Dunbridge Academy.It’s the first place I’ve ever learned what friendship and love really mean.And I’d like you to experience that too.”
Cleo doesn’t move.“You mean...?”
“It was Olive’s idea.She suggested that you could enroll too.I’ll speak to Mom and Dad if you like the idea.”
“Going to boarding school in Scotland?”Cleo asks, and I hear the panic starting to build in her voice.
“Yeah, to Dunbridge Academy, with me.”It sounds way less scary that way.But apparently, she disagrees, because her face stays skeptical.“It’s beautiful there and the people are really nice.I’d always be close by.You could see the out-of-tune piano for yourself, and I could play you your songs.No time difference, no FaceTime.”It’s too much for her.I can see it in her eyes, and I get that.“Think about it, OK?How about that?”
Cleo nods, her lips pressed tightly together.
I keep looking at her.Then she shakes her head slightly and I pull her into my arms again.“You’re impossible, Cleo Fantino.”
She presses her head into my chest.
I shut my eyes.Maybe there is hope.
Maybe there’s something better for her than life here.I’d never have believed it either until I went to Scotland.
Cleo seems a bit calmer when I eventually tell her I’m going to check on Olive.I want to ask her if she’s in the mood to watch a movie with me and Cleo, but as I open the guest room door, I see there’s no point.
She’s fallen asleep.Obviously.Olive’s curled up on the bed, and her face is relaxed.
She groans reluctantly as I lie down beside her.
“You look cute when you’re asleep,” I whisper.
“Take that back,” she murmurs.
